Conflict with Financial Interests

With Aberfan, history repeated itself. There was a conflict of financial interests versus people’s safety. It would have been safer to have dumped the mine waste in an area well away from
human habitation. That would have cost more money. There was a fear that if further tipping on the mountain was not allowed, closure of the mine would follow. The mine did close
eventually, but not until 1989 - one of the last Welsh pits to go.

THIS CONFLICT IS NOT UNIQUE !

2018, 14 August. Genioa, Italy - collapse of the Morandi
Bridge

At least 43 people died, many injured, some
seriously.

Many years before the tragedy, concerns were raised about the safety and cost of maintenance.

Italy's governing Five Star Movement dismissed fears that the bridge would collapse as a 'fairy
story' while opposing repair work as a 'waste of money'.

An ambarrassing lack of critical sense. A close echo of what happened in
Aberfan.

A federal judge has ruled that
BP’s reckless conduct led to the worst offshore oil spill in US history – a decision that exposes the oil giant to billions more in civil penalties.

BP was assigned the majority of
blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill by US District Judge Carl Barbier on Thursday.

His ruling means BP now faces
fines that are expected to total between $10.3bn (£6.3bn) and $17.6bn (£10.7bn).

Judge Barbier ruled that BP
bears 67% of responsibility for the spill, while drilling rig owner Transocean Ltd was assigned 30% of blame.

Halliburton, which served as BP’s cement contractor
on the Deepwater Horizon rig, was assigned 3% of the blame. The energy services giant announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to pay $1.1bn (£665m) to settle plaintiff
claims.

Eleven workers were killed when
the rig exploded in April 2010, and millions of gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf while BP scrambled for weeks to seal the well.

Judge Barbier said BP made
“profit-driven decisions” during drilling that led to the deadly blowout.

“The Court concludes that the
discharge of oil ‘was the result of gross negligence or wilful misconduct’ by BP,” Judge Barbier said in his written ruling.

“BP’s conduct was
reckless.”

“These instances of negligence,
taken together, evince an extreme deviation from the standard of care and a conscious disregard of known risks,” he wrote in a 153-page ruling.”

Recall delay of faulty cars –
Sky News, 16 May 2014

The United States government has fined General Motors (GM) the maximum $35m (£21m) for delayed recalls of vehicles with faulty ignition switches. Thirteen people died in crashes linked to the
problem, the company says, but lawsuits put the actual death toll at 53.

GM has admitted it knew about the problem for more than a decade. It did not recall the vehicles until 2014, even though car-makers are supposed to report safety defects within five days of
discovery.

The Detroit-based firm first spotted the problem during pre-production in 2001. It was not until February 2014 that it instigated a recall. GM engineers held meetings about the issue in 2005, but
decided against a fix because it would take too long and cost too much money.

Finance before people’s safety !

Samuel Plimsoll
campaigned especially against what were known as "coffin
ships"
– unseaworthy and overloaded vessels, often heavily insured, in which unscrupulous owners risked the lives of their crews. Many people died. He campaigned in the UK parliament for
restrictions to be made law, but such an amendment was refused – by many Members of Parliament who were themselves, ship owners. The public became aware of this dilemma. Through pressure
from the public, at least some of Samuel Plimsoll’s recommendations were adopted in 1876.

There are strong similarities to the Aberfan story. The people managing an industry cannot always be trusted – sounds familiar?

The Plimsoll Line is now a feature on ships, indicating the safe loading capacity – according to what kind of water the ship is sailing in.
Samuel Plimsoll was buried in St Martin's churchyard, Horn Street, Folkestone, UK, on 3 June 1898.

Thalidomide
– there were serious concerns about its safety before it was distributed, but these were hushed up. Too much money had been invested in the development of the drug, for it to be allowed to
fail. Reference the book Thalidomide and the Power of the Drug Companies, by Henning Sjöström and Robert Nilsson.

In many situations, people’s safety and financial interests often oppose each other. We must remain watchful and not completely trust the people who are supposed to be looking after us
!